Sioux City man’s conviction upheld despite lawyer reference to "O.J"

A Sioux City man convicted of first degree murder in connection with a drug-related slaying will NOT get a new trial. Omar Rasheen Wilkins asked for a new trial because the prosecutor kept calling him “O.J.” during his trial. The justices on the state Supreme Court say the prosecutor’s conduct is “clearly subject to criticism” but probably did not affect the jury’s verdict. The justices also point out Wilkins’ own attorney slipped and called him O.J. once during the trial, too. The ruling goes on to say, however, that attorneys should always refer to defendants by their proper names. Wilkins was convicted of a murder that happened in the summer of 2002. Cops say the shooting happened when rival drug dealers were fighting over a customer. It was the customer who was murdered. Wilkins claims there’s new evidence that he was framed, and the Supreme Court says he can present those arguments in another appeal.